Earthquakes are a very real and unpredictable threat to people today. These catastrophes are particularly dangerous to people who are within standing structures, such as buildings and houses, as falling debris to some extent is an inevitable occurrence. However, such falling debris is most dangerous during the night, when most people are asleep in their beds.
Conventional beds are typically composed of a mattress seated on top of a spring-loaded wooden frame, commonly referred to as a "box spring", which is further mounted on top of a metal frame. In addition to various mattress sizes, varied arrangements are available for such beds. A standard one-level bed provides no protection from falling debris. Although bunk beds provide some protection to occupants of the lower bunk during an earthquake, the occupant of the upper bunk is still vulnerable to falling debris. In addition, bunk beds are primarily used in places where space is limited, such as college dormitories and children's bedrooms, thus excluding a large percentage of the population.
The following prior art disclose various means of protecting occupants of a bed during an earthquake.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,543 to Epshetsky et al. discloses a foldable earthquake protective bed comprising a support frame and two moveable members pivotally attached to the support frame and capable of being pivoted between a folded position in which the moveable members are arranged as conventional parts of the bed and an unfolded position in which they form a rigid protective cover above the bed's occupant(s).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,541 to Tuchman discloses a protective bed suitable for protecting an occupant or occupants during major catastrophes resulting in falling debris including a canopy made of steel mesh which is resistant to penetration by an accumulation of falling debris.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,895 to Shustov discloses a manufacture for sheltering people in a case of earthquake emergency using an existing bed. The shelter has a horizontal frame of shelves for placing the bed on, confiners for fixing the bed, a cover on supports, and a base isolating system of ball-bearing footholds on pedestal plates with concave upper surfaces of proper curvature.
Although these prior art disclose various means of protecting occupants of a bed during an earthquake, none of them disclose an earthquake protective bed of the particular structure and novelty as disclosed and claimed hereafter.
It is thus a primary objective of the present invention to provide a bed which effectively protects an occupant or occupants from accumulated falling debris in the event of an earthquake.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a bed which in its collapsed position can sustain the life of an occupant or occupants within the bed while it is buried under fallen debris.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a bed which in its uncollapsed position does not occupy an excessive amount of vertical space.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a bed which includes a useful as well as decorative earthquake protective cover.